Quinn suggested Republican lieutenant governor candidate Evelyn Sanguinetti should issue an apology to the state's cow population over what she says amounted to a "jovial" reference about tipping them over.

"She ought to say she's sorry to a bunch of cows," said Quinn, whose voice sounded as if it had some levity, but only a tad.

Setting aside the debate on whether cow-tipping is myth or reality, the issue arose when a Springfield-based reporter for Lee Enterprises newspapers recently revealed Sanguinetti wrote a January 2013 email inquiry to a longtime friend in state government about potential job openings.

In a follow-up exchange, Sanguinetti added: "Isn't cow tipping a work requirement in Springfield (LOL)?"

A comment like that by a lawyer from Wheaton could ruffle sensitivities of farmers, Downstaters and Springfield residents always alert to any perceived slight from the Chicago area. It's unclear how cows reacted, but Quinn, a Chicagoan, didn't hesitate when asked Thursday.

"Well, I think that was very disrespectful to the people in Springfield and everywhere else in Illinois," said Quinn, who's spent several days hailing Illinois agriculture at the Illinois State Fair.

"I think she should apologize for those disrespectful remarks," Quinn said. "They aren't really very nice at all, and I think that isn't the right way to talk about anybody or any cow in Illinois.

"They deserve to stand up right, and we're proud of our cows, and the Illinois cows are the best there ever was," Quinn said.

The State Journal-Register of Springfield caught up with Sanguinetti, who was at the fair's Republican Day events with Rauner, and asked why she wrote the email the way she did, whether she had any remorse and whether she had a message for the people of Springfield.

"The comment, regretfully, it was made two years ago. It was only to a law school buddy," Sanguinetti said.

She explained she used to tell him about her familiarity with Miami and he used to tell her about his Macomb area background, saying he told her that upending cows was "like a joke around the region over there."

"It was just a jovial exchange --- never meant to say anything contrary to the people of Springfield," she told the paper. "They've been very good to me."

Rauner will begin the first leg of a Downstate bus tour today with plans to tour several Downstate counties.